Visual Artist, Long Island City, NY

menu

Stacked

This is what my proposed annual timeline looked like for this year – all nicely spaced over the twelve months so that I could function like a normal, sane person:

This is what my actual annual timeline looks like at the current moment:

We all know that life rarely goes according to plan. Having boundaries to protect yourself from the above is important, but there are times when you just have to say “yes” to everything and trust that you can get ‘er done.

Which means sometimes you end up with what you might call a Fuck Shit Stack. Everything piled up, accelerated, and happening all-at-once (my idea of what constitutes a FSS is somewhat different than what brilliant comedian/musician Freddie Watts refers to as a Fuck Shit Stack).

In addition to my regular work schedule during the past month I’ve vetted realtors, signed up to participate in the Long Island City Arts Open Studios, had some work selected for a couple of group shows during the Arts Open festival (!!), and volunteered 30 hours of admin time for the festival (bonus: getting to meet some passionate local art folks).

In the next two weeks I’ll be selling my property, creating two pieces of artwork for the LIC Arts Open Silent Auction fundraiser, prepping four pieces (and my studio) for the Arts Open, attending two openings where I’ll have work on display (!!), discussing my non-immigrant status and how it affects selling my artwork with an arts immigration lawyer, and hosting the in-laws over Mother’s Day weekend. I also want to try and fit in a day pass to the Frieze Art Fair that is happening the same week as the LIC Arts Open. Apparently Frieze is THE art fair – how can you say, “don’t have time” to that?!

It’s been a super productive period, I can’t complain. The anxiety of overwhelm is countered by the rush of accomplishment – I’m definitely riding high. This past hectic month made up for an unproductive January, though I will say that I don’t recommend working this way. Too much all at once starts to feel a bit like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride…and it’s completely unsustainable.

So…I’m planning on taking the last half of May to refresh and regroup. I little bit of ebb to balance the roaring flow. Part of that time off includes flying back to Vancouver to say a final farewell to my property and collecting enough West Coast hugs to sustain me for the second half of the year.

Once I stop spinning I’ll take a look at the remainder of the year and try to find things to do during all that time I freed up by accomplishing EVERYTHING AT ONCE. 😉

How’s your second quarter going? Is it break-neck speed or evenly balanced? Please share in the comments below.